10 Social Media Trends to Watch Out for in 2020

Technology at our fingertips today has never been more advanced. But with great innovation comes plenty of competition. Therefore, keeping up with trends is so vital to your business.

That includes social media.

Keeping up with social media changes every year may seem like a constant game of cat and mouse. If you're not one step ahead, you'll get left behind in the dust in what feels like a nanosecond.

So, what's on the cards for 2020 in the realm of social media? Find out here.

What Lies Ahead: 2020's Predicted Social Media Trends

With the meteoric rise of video content on YouTube, Instagram stories and new platforms such as TikTok, here's how and where to direct all your social media energy this year:

A Better Sense of Community and Connection

Social media has come a long way in recent years, but many people would agree that it's lost much of its personal connection. With the rise of advertising and sponsored content, social media feels more like a money-making fiasco than what it used to be about -- connecting with others.

In 2020, a major social media trend is to go back to basics. Self-serving social media content just won't fit the bill this year.

It's also not enough to just provide a service your customer needs. The new mindset is centred on building a meaningful relationship with customers. This relationship needs to be more important than the products you sell.

Returning to basics requires you to reassess two important things: Who is your audience? What are their interests?

2020 is all about creating content that truly resonates with your audience.

The Rise of the Authentic Influencer

The power of big-name influencers with hundreds and thousands of followers is undeniable. But this year, the influencer space is all set to evolve.

Brands are set to connect with nano- and micro-influencers who represent a much smaller following. They tend to have better-defined audiences, which offers a better level of engagement for brands.

Influencer marketing based on ''go big or go home'' mentality is old news. What matters more now is not higher brand awareness, but more meaningful connections with customers.

Branded Links

Sharing links across social media channels helps to spread awareness, generate leads, and build a backlink network for SEO.

But there’s another benefit sharing links offer – an opportunity for branding.

Your customers have probably seen cryptic links in emails and social media, which look something like this: bit.ly/2NeSGRS. This means nothing to them.

Turn this into a branding opportunity by creating contextual short links through new domain extensions, such as .tech, .online, .site, .store, .fun, and more. So, instead of bit.ly/2NeSGRS, go for something like socialmedia.online/instatips.

Direct, Personalised Ads

Ever spoken about a product you love, only to have a personalised ad pop up on your Facebook newsfeed about it?

This is the power of remarketing. Today, direct, personalised ads are a brilliant opportunity for brands to encourage direct business through social media.

The good news is consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable with the concept, paving the way to shopping through social apps, such as Facebook and Instagram. This is set to become a megatrend in 2020.

Video Content is Here to Stay

Video communication on social media has seen astronomical popularity in recent years. It's not going anywhere for the foreseeable future. Long and short videos are some of the most shared content across all social media platforms.

In 2020, YouTube is where it's at for influencers, brands, and even businesses.

Instagram may be considered the major hub for influencers, but marketers and brands will be turning to YouTube in the months to come. But this is not to say the power of Instagram's IGTV and Stories should be ignored.

Bye-Bye to Vanity Metrics

The purpose of this step is to de-emphasise vanity and false measures of ''success'' on social media.

This means that influencers and marketers need to focus their attention on actionable metrics in 2020. In essence, this is the rate and quality of user engagement across social media platforms.

This requires a dive into user demographics and other user data. This helps you further understand your audience and set metrics that matter the most to your brand.

Personalised Video Marketing

This is a chance for businesses to increase their level of audience personalisation on social media. The combination of segmentation and video gives rise to personalised video marketing in 2020.

This is video content customisable to specific segments of your target market. On platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat, marketers should use story ads rather than traditional newsfeed ads. Twitter is also a popular medium with the use of 6-second video ads.

Direct, Personal Communication

There's a big push this year to return to a more personalised way of communicating with your audience.

Direct, personal communication is a popular trend to look out for. Marketers and influencers are set to use communication tools such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram direct messaging as a means of communication.

Social Media Platforms Will Be Used to Build Trust

The overall theme for social media change in 2020 is for brands to remember that social media platforms are not just for advertising. They're a good place to build and nurture brand trust, as well.

Social media platforms are the perfect opportunity for building strong relationships with customers. You engage on their level and communicate with them personally and openly. Brand success is set to hinge on these values in 2020.

Looking for Social Media Marketing Expertise?

Now that you know what to expect from this year's social media trends, it’s time to form that ground-breaking social media marketing strategy.

Are you a small business with a small budget, focused on building your brand? All brands have to start somewhere, so don't miss our business tips here.

Alisha is a Senior Content Marketing & Communication Specialist at Radix, the registry behind some of the most successful new domain extensions, including .ONLINE and .TECH. You can connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.